Obituary: Nancy Wahl

Nancy L Wahl, age 83 of Rhinelander, passed away on Friday morning, April 17, 2020, at Friendly Village Health and Rehab with her family at her side.

Nancy was born in Gary, Ind. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 1936, to Oscar I. and Lorane B. Rongland. She was raised in Hobart, Ind. and Racine and graduated from the Wisconsin School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Janesville in 1955. She met her future husband, Dean C. Wahl, while square dancing at the Memorial Union at UW-Madison. The couple were united in marriage on April 23, 1960, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Madison. Nancy was employed at the University Hospital before starting a family. They lived in Madison until 2003 when they moved to Rhinelander to be closer to their grandchildren.

She was a former member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Madison and was currently a member of Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church. Nancy’s faith was very important to her and she enjoyed singing at hymn sing-a-longs.

In her younger years, Nancy enjoyed ice skating, bowling, croquet and square dancing. Nancy and Dean volunteered for many years for the Wisconsin Council of the Blind. Nancy loved music and played the accordion. She liked to bake, especially for Christmas. She enjoyed traveling, hiking, and swimming. She enjoyed many happy hours with her family at their cottage on Lake Wisconsin. She loved her guide dog, Gypsy, and other pets. Most of all Nancy loved her family and they always came first in her life. She embraced her grandchildren with an everlasting love and was immensely proud of them.

She will be dearly missed by Dean, her loving husband of almost 60 years; daughter, Linda (Andrew) Smith of Rhinelander; son-in-law, Ken Arzarian of Friday Harbor, Wash.; granddaughter, Juliana Smith and grandson, Levi Smith of Rhinelander. Also surviving are two sisters, Clara Joan (David) Bendtsen of Lodi, and Dorothy Fitzgerald of Baraboo. She is further survived by nieces, one nephew, and other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Oscar and Lorane Rongland and by her daughter, Darlene Wahl.
The visitation and Memorial Mass will be held at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church at a later date.

Inurnment will take place at a later date at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, Madison.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hildebrand Funeral Home & Cremation Specialists, 24 E. Davenport Street, Rhinelander, Wisconsin 54501, 715-365-4343. You are invited to light a candle, sign the guestbook, leave a photo or an online condolence at www.hildebrandrussfh.com